From Publishers Weekly
In his third appearance, San Francisco bartender Dismas Hardy returns to the practice of law to star in a gripping courtroom drama that may well be Lescroart's breakthrough novel. After the severed hand of a murdered billionaire is discovered in a dead shark's stomach, Hardy ends up on the DA's team prosecuting the victim's Japanese mistress. She produces an airtight alibi just as the trial begins; Diz loses his job, and, in a bizarre twist, is hired to defend the second person accused of the crime, Andrew Fowler--who is not only his ex-father-in-law but was also the judge in the first trial. Diz's involvement with his beautiful ex-wife and the needs of his very pregnant current wife complicate his life, while doubts about his client's innocence and the antagonism demonstrated toward Fowler from both the prosecution and the bench put him at a disadvantage in court. A seemingly unimportant bit of testimony provides the clue that reveals the killer's identity and motivation. As always, Lescroart ( Dead Irish ; The Vig ) creates compelling, credible characters and, despite one or two unlikely coincidences, holds reader's attention through every step of the plot. 50,000 first printing; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
YA-- From the moment a severed hand wearing a serpentine jade ring is found in the belly of a white shark, this murder case is emotionally, politically, and judicially tainted. Even after junior Assistant D. A. Dismas Hardy is forced into relinquishing the case to his superior, the ambitious Elizabeth Pullios, he finds himself in progressively more complex relationships with a seemingly unlimited string of murder suspects. First, the high-class Japanese mistress of the wealthy victim is caught trying to sneak out of the country with a note in her dead lover's handwriting promising her a million dollars. Then the powerful judge with the impeccable reputation hearing the case is found to be footing the bill for the mistress's defense. Finally, it is revealed that the possessive daughter of the victim had had a very unusual relationship with her father. YAs will devour this hefty book with its short chapters that fluidly move from pointed courtroom dialogue to ongoing investigation to complex personal intrigues, all driven by Hardy's idealism.- Jessica Lahr, Edison High School, Fairfax County, VACopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
A hand wearing a distinctive ring turns up in a shark's belly in San Francisco, and the rest of the body of a Silicon Valley billionaire washes up on the beach a short time later. Assistant D.A. Dismas Hardy, who appeared in Lescroart's Dead Irish (Donald I. Fine, 1990) and The Vig (Donald I. Fine, 1991), is assigned to prosecute an elite call girl for the murder. In a bizarre turn of events, Hardy is fired and ends up instead defending his former father-in-law, a Superior Court judge, against the murder charge. Suspecting a set-up, Dismas must thread his way through a maze of uncooperative witnesses, an outraged D.A., his ex-wife, an eager reporter, the victim's seductive daughter, and an openly biased judge to get to the truth. Lescroart blends an intricate plot, a great locale, wonderfully colorful characters, and taut courtroom drama to create a book that will leave readers eager for more. Highly recommended. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections.- Susan Clifford, Hughes Aircraft Co. Lib., Los AngelesCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Newport News Daily Press
Sensational. Compares favorably with Scott Turow and John Grisham.


Book Description
When the bullet-ridden body of a Silicon Valley billionaire washes up on shore, assistant D.A. Dismas Hardy finds himself the prosecutor in San Francisco's murder trial of the century. But when a bizarre series of events blows the case wide open, Hardy finds himself on the other side of the law.

FROM OUR EDITORS

This crackling, authentically drawn courtroom drama finds San Francisco's assistant D.A. Dismas Hardy immersed in not one but two murder trials when he discovers the severed hand of a billionaire inside the belly of a dying shark & later represents the murder suspect.

ANNOTATION

The murder of a billionaire turns a prosecutor into a defense attorney when a superior court judge is charged with the murder. Combining the styles of Elmore Leonard and Scott Turow, John Lescroart's compelling trial narrative is fresh and original, constantly surprising the reader with its twists and turns. Fine.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

What is the novel Hard Evidence like? ... Imagine combining, say, Elmore Leonard/Ross McDonald with Scott Turow/Philip Friedman and one begins to get a sense of the flavor, the local color - San Francisco, in this case - the courtroom authenticity and a narrative that is altogether original, fresh and surprising at a hundred twists and turns. Assistant D.A. Dismas Hardy opens the belly of a dying shark and discovers the severed hand of a man wearing a jade ring. When the rest of the body of a Silicon Valley billionaire washes up on a beach it becomes clear that he was shot to death by someone he knew. Hardy soon finds himself the prosecutor in San Francisco's biggest murder trial. The defendant is a Japanese call girl with a long list of prominent clients, including the victim. But office politics intervene and Hardy is demoted to assisting the ambitious D.A. who wants the case for its headlines. In a bizarre series of developments, the case has to be dropped and Hardy, whom the D.A. has set up to look like a loose cannon, is summarily fired. Suddenly a second suspect - a man Hardy knows, respects and admires - is charged with the same murder, and hires Hardy who is more familiar with the case than anyone, as defense counsel. Now all Hardy has to contend with is an uncooperative client, the victim's strange and seductive daughter, a prejudiced judge and a vengeful, hostile prosecutor. Within the microcosm of not one but two murder trials, the author creates a brilliant mosaic of character and conflict, a world of real people wrestling with issues of love and betrayal, ambition and selflessness, justice and retribution.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In his third appearance, San Francisco bartender Dismas Hardy returns to the practice of law to star in a gripping courtroom drama that may well be Lescroart's breakthrough novel. After the severed hand of a murdered billionaire is discovered in a dead shark's stomach, Hardy ends up on the DA's team prosecuting the victim's Japanese mistress. She produces an airtight alibi just as the trial begins; Diz loses his job, and, in a bizarre twist, is hired to defend the second person accused of the crime, Andrew Fowler--who is not only his ex-father-in-law but was also the judge in the first trial. Diz's involvement with his beautiful ex-wife and the needs of his very pregnant current wife complicate his life, while doubts about his client's innocence and the antagonism demonstrated toward Fowler from both the prosecution and the bench put him at a disadvantage in court. A seemingly unimportant bit of testimony provides the clue that reveals the killer's identity and motivation. As always, Lescroart ( Dead Irish ; The Vig ) creates compelling, credible characters and, despite one or two unlikely coincidences, holds reader's attention through every step of the plot. 50,000 first printing; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections. (Feb.)

Library Journal

A hand wearing a distinctive ring turns up in a shark's belly in San Francisco, and the rest of the body of a Silicon Valley billionaire washes up on the beach a short time later. Assistant D.A. Dismas Hardy, who appeared in Lescroart's Dead Irish (Donald I. Fine, 1990) and The Vig (Donald I. Fine, 1991), is assigned to prosecute an elite call girl for the murder. In a bizarre turn of events, Hardy is fired and ends up instead defending his former father-in-law, a Superior Court judge, against the murder charge. Suspecting a set-up, Dismas must thread his way through a maze of uncooperative witnesses, an outraged D.A., his ex-wife, an eager reporter, the victim's seductive daughter, and an openly biased judge to get to the truth. Lescroart blends an intricate plot, a great locale, wonderfully colorful characters, and taut courtroom drama to create a book that will leave readers eager for more. Highly recommended. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections.-- Susan Clifford, Hughes Aircraft Co. Lib., Los Angeles

School Library Journal

YA-- From the moment a severed hand wearing a serpentine jade ring is found in the belly of a white shark, this murder case is emotionally, politically, and judicially tainted. Even after junior Assistant D. A. Dismas Hardy is forced into relinquishing the case to his superior, the ambitious Elizabeth Pullios, he finds himself in progressively more complex relationships with a seemingly unlimited string of murder suspects. First, the high-class Japanese mistress of the wealthy victim is caught trying to sneak out of the country with a note in her dead lover's handwriting promising her a million dollars. Then the powerful judge with the impeccable reputation hearing the case is found to be footing the bill for the mistress's defense. Finally, it is revealed that the possessive daughter of the victim had had a very unusual relationship with her father. YAs will devour this hefty book with its short chapters that fluidly move from pointed courtroom dialogue to ongoing investigation to complex personal intrigues, all driven by Hardy's idealism.-- Jessica Lahr, Edison High School, Fairfax County, VA

BookList - Wes Lukowsky